Year: 2016

Notes for Wednesday – October 12, 2016

Please continue to pray for and assist those displaced by Hurricane Matthew. Substantial damage has been done all the way up into North Carolina. The topic of today’s writing contest article underscores the importance of situational awareness.  My advice is to study Colonel Jeff Cooper’s levels of awareness codes, then live them. In today’s inimical world, living in Condition Yellow should be your normal modus operandi. –  JWR o o o Today, we present another entry for Round 67 of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest. The nearly $12,000 worth of prizes for this round include: First Prize: A Tactical Self-Contained …


Terror in Texas: An Active Shooter, by Sophie

This is a wake-up call for all of you who think you’re ready when the Schumer Hits the Fan (SHTF). Whatever trigger may cause the mayhem, you think you’re ready for it because you read all the advice from experts like SurvivalBlog so that your prepared to handle anything thrown at you. Well I’m here to tell you that when it does come your way, either by lack of practice, planning, forgetfulness or not doing what you know you should, life can turn for the worst to immediately change your life and those you love. Yesterday was my day to …


Hurricane Matthew–Some Lessons Learned

Dear Editor: Although I shouldn’t have been, I was once again amazed at the panic and last minute attempts to prepare, as Hurricane Matthew approached Florida. Florida’s geography dictates that there is only one way to travel to get out of the state, and that is north, unless you own a boat or plane.  The interstate freeways and highways get a lot of traffic and the stores get cleaned out, by hurricane refugees.  The parking lot of the Walmart that I visited was full of recreational vehicles (RVs).  Many of their owners were standing around with nowhere to go.  When …


Letter Re: Glock 30 Pistol Product Review

Good Morning, I have used the Glock 30 and Glock 30S as back-up guns along with the Glock 21 and Glock 41 a primary carry guns. I started carrying a Model 21 several years ago after training at Front Sight. I changed to the Model 41 after it was introduced by Glock because I prefer the longer sight radius and increased muzzle velocity that  it offers over the 21 or 30. I also switched from a Glock 30 to the Glock 30S as a back-up gun when the [lighter, thin slide] 30S became available.   One item that Pat left …


JWR’s Recommendations of the Week:

Books: Ham Radio Study Guide: Manual for Technician Class, General Class, and Amateur Extra Class Get on the Air with HF Digital Movies: Sully The Martian Television: Designated Survivor Jericho Music: Holst: The Planets The Very Best of Enya Podcasts: The Survivalist Podcast: Episode-04- TSP Rewind – You Can’t Lose as a Modern Survivalist The Survival Show: Episode 286 – Debt, Finances and Precious Metals Instructional Videos: Building A Multi-Band HF Dipole Antenna AR-15 – Detailed Step By Step Assembly / Build Instructions (HD Video) Gear: Morovision IR-14 – Phoenix Junior IR Beacon Icom IC-718 Get On The Air HAM …


Economics and Investing:

China must wean itself off debt addiction if it is to avoid financial calamity, warns IMF chief o o o Hubert Moolman: Silver Price Forecast: Higher Silver Prices For Many Years To Come o o o Bank of England investigating dramatic overnight fall in pound o o o Gold bounces back from biggest weekly drop this year o o o SurvivalBlog and its editors are not paid investment counselors or advisers. Please see our Provisos page for details.


Odds ‘n Sods:

I recently had the opportunity to tour Michigan’s Upper Peninsula (commonly called “The U.P.” or “Upper Michigan”) for the first time. It is a large, mostly forested expanse with a fairly light population density. The region measures 16,377 square miles–nearly twice the size of New Jersey. It is known for mosquitoes in the summer months and brutal cold and deep snow in the winter months. The folks there seem friendly and predominantly conservative. The only disappointments were seeing the scarcity of home vegetable gardens (and greenhouses), the scarcity of livestock, and seeing not nearly as much commercial row crop agriculture …


JWR’s Quote of the Day:

“There are two basic ways in which people can interact: by mutual agreement, or by one person using threats or violence to force his will upon another. The first can be labeled ‘consent’– both sides willingly and voluntarily agreeing to what is to be done. The second can be labeled ‘governing’ – one person controlling another. Since these two – consent and governing – are opposites, the concept of ‘consent of the governed’ is a contradiction. If there is mutual consent, it is not ‘government’; if there is governing, there is no consent. Some will claim that a majority; or …



Guest Article: Being (Part 4 in Intelligence for Preparedness), by Samuel Culper

This is the fourth and last article in a series about using intelligence for preparedness. I’m starting from square zero in order to introduce a new crop of Americans to the concept of using intelligence, to prove that there’s a need for intelligence, and to get readers quickly up to speed on how to incorporate it into their security planning. For a better foundation, be sure to read Part One, Part Two, and Part Three. (And check out the Ultimate ACE Startup Guide, too.) Brief recap: In the first article, we established that prepared communities need intelligence because they’re going …


Letter: Using Military Ammo Cans for Faraday Shielding

Dear JWR: The use of military surplus ammo boxes as Faraday shields was recently mentioned again in SurvivalBlog.  But readers should be reminded that these cans will not work in the configuration where they are normally purchased.  This is because the boxes have a rubber gasket to seal the lid from water and that makes the lid not in [electrical] contact with the body of the can, thereby losing the [EMP] shield effect.  Regards, – Dave X. JWR Replies:  You are correct.  As mentioned previously in SurvivalBlog, the best approach is to remove the rubber gasket,  rough up the metal …



Economics and Investing:

Simon Black’s Sovereign Man e-letter reports: “It’s official. The United States government closed out the 2016 fiscal year that ended a few days ago on Friday September 30th with a debt level of $19,573,444,713,936. ??That’s an increase of $1,422,827,047,452 over last year’s fiscal year close. ??Incredible. By the way, that debt growth amounts to roughly 7.5% of the entire US economy.” JWR’s Comment: Or look at it this way: The $1.4 Trillion in new debt surpasses all of the debt that the Federal government accumulated inclusively from 1787 to 1979—yes, and all in just one year. In all, in his …


Odds ‘n Sods:

Over at the deservedly-popular Yer Ol’ Woodpile Report blog, the Editor “Ol’ Remus” comments wittily: “He who panics first, panics best” –  This of course is regarding the urgency of escaping the death traps of the big cities in the midst of crises. o o o I recently purchased a state-of-the-art FLIR countermeasure field camouflage shelter, produced by SnakebiteTactical.com.I was quite impressed with the quality of construction. These shelters—about the same size and slightly heavier than a poncho liner–are handmade in Montana. They render the user nearly invisible to even the most sensitive FLIRs and cameras with similar technology. Thanks …


Jim’s Quote of the Day:

“My take on socialism is this: Socialism only seems to work when you don’t fully implement it, when you keep enough capitalism around to pay socialism’s bills, at least for a time. It’s the difference between milking the cow and killing it. Socialism has no theory of wealth creation; it’s just a destructive, envy-driven fantasy about redistributing it after something else (and somebody else) creates it first.” – Lawrence W. Reed